Monthly Archives: August 2011

Post navigation

Ella says “Wow, mama, what a fancy pink bag-can I have it?” Heeeellllloooo! No, silly this is for our Baby Go! Our what? Not every bag that comes through these doors is shared with a 5 year old girl ya know! Why not? she says…Nevermind…go play with your Barbies sweet girl!

So here it is, organized so beautifully in the perfectly matched (great marketing Accuquilt!) bag for the self proclaimed, bag hag!

I love the roomy pockets, the multiple sections and I feel soooo organized and sassy!

I fun and purposeful tool! Stay tuned for more posts and projects using my wonderful BabyGO!

After a few weeks of having quilting lessons at Linda’s house, it was time that I took the leap and purchase a machine of my own. This was it! I was really going to “do” this quilting thing.

I was excited, and so was my mom (aka Grammy) who is also my neighbor and was looking forward to sharing this investment with me. Grammy used to sew once upon a time, but somehow forgot to teach me! Her old workhorse of a Singer had been a good machine, but sadly when loaned to a friend years ago, it was never to be seen again.

So off we went to the local sewing machine store to shop. Linda said that rather than just look online, I needed to “touch” some real machines to get a sense of what I liked. What I liked? At this point, I didn’t even know what I liked! Do I want a heavy machine? Brand specific? A certain size? Alas, the trip was worthwhile as the well informed salesman actually let us sew some stiches on a few different machines.

I found one that met all my criteria, and was whipping out my credit card, when our shopping savvy friend gave me the signal to slow down. She was already ahead of me and had looked up the model of the machine I liked online. Of course, they were cheaper online, but I was conflicted. Earlier that day, knowing that we’d be going to the store, I had secretly pictured myself at home later that night sewing on a sparkly new machine. Hmmm, patience is a virtue?

So we walked out of the store, machineless, and I spent the next few hours at home tracking down the model of the machine. I also had to try to beat the system in terms of finding a way to get around the ridiculously high shipping charges often tacked on to items being mailed to Hawaii. I was lucky and through Amazon found a retail store on the mainland that would send it free shipping. Woo hoo!

So I waited, and waited, excited to get home each day to see if it had been delivered. Once the “approximate shipping date” came and went, I kept my cool and gave it two more days. By day three of “Seriously, where’s my machine?” I shot off an email to the retailer, and lo and behold (maybe by my putting it out into the universe), my machine arrived that afternoon.

Isn't she beautiful?

The Singer Confidence 7467. I do love her and promptly named her Singeria (recipe for the machine inspired cocktail to follow in a future post). The only slight disappointment is that it did not include a walking foot like the one at the store had as part of the accessories package. But, all in all, no complaints. Lots of options for fun stitches, it’s sturdy, sews straight, and as Grammy marvels, “Sewing machines are so much more user friendly now!”

So, in the spirit of helping other fellow newbies with some direction and inspiration, tell us:

While visiting family in Dallas a few months ago, I went to Soma and Chicos for my usual shopping spree and I purchased an impulse Ruana … See, isn’t it so tropical for my island climate? I agree, thank you.

So, after spending way too much on my impulse purchase, wondering if I will ever really wear it, I packed it away and brought it back to the islands. Well, it turns out, I do wear it and love the comfort. It also looks quite nice and fancy… Re-looking at this, I decided, how hard would this really be to make? Famous last words…

Ok, my husband is doing his usual dinner prep-did you hear that ladies? I am sooooo lucky, my husband actually loves to cook. Tonight was no different…. He decided that he wanted to cook under the influence. But really ladies, this is an every night occurrence, the husband cooking and him cooking under the influence! This gives me time to sew and quilt-again, I am sooooo lucky! He calls this dish “Left Over Roast Chicken Under The Influence with Oregano and Spinach Soup.”

Okay, so my husband wants to get to into the blog… He thinks I should post a picture of his project classic car to attract quilter’s husbands, and I told him to step away from the computer and stick to his “knitting” so to speak! Ha! Stay tuned for future posts!

Ok, back to me… a few days ago, I went to the fabric store… wait, clearly I DO NOT NEED TO GO INTO A FABRIC STORE FOR A VERY LONG TIME (I have ALL I really need)… Linda-focus! Okay… fine, but I wanted to get some fun things to give away on our blog. Oooops, I should probably be more discrete about that…

Ok, back to the story, I found two yards of 50% off fabric that was light and airy… sorry, I have no idea, if it is silk or otherwise, but it hangs so light and breezy… so for $11.00, yes, you “heard” right… $11.00. This may not seem like a deal to you but when you live on a island where everything comes by boat, we get excited about sales!!!

Ok, back to the story, I poured a drink and “dove” in. I just (I kinda measured, I kinda pinned, I kinda cut straight, and I kinda ironed the hem, not really, I didn’t even plug in the iron) kinda prepared the fabric. It actually turned out so lovely! Eva Bernina did me well but since it was my first time using this light and airy fabric, it took patience! It isn’t perfect, but no one is going to inspect it as I wear it and IT DOES look lovely!

I’m not quilting this morning. I’m snuggling with a quilt while under the influence of CNN’s coverage of the hurricane. Usually, in Hawaii, we are the ones facing the hurricane, but somehow it’s even more nerve-wracking watching and worrying for those so far away.

As I sit here in my pajamas watching coverage of Hurricane Irene, I find myself praying for the East Coast as I snuggle a little closer to one of my favorite quilts. Linda made my mom a tremendous gift earlier this year. We call it The Camp Quilt.

My mom is an angel who dedicates her free time to volunteer for various organizations that help people in critical health. Through her work she’s volunteered at an annual camp. Each volunteer get a t shirt and when I mentioned this to Linda I think I actually saw a light bulb go off over her head.

“Aha! I’ve been wanting to learn this new t shirt quilt technique. I want to make something special for your mom!”

So in true ‘life long learner Linda’ style, she signed up for a quilting class, and in no time she had completed an amazing memory quilt. When my mom showed the quilt to her fellow volunteers, they made it even more special by signing their names and words of appreciation to the quilt with fabric markers. Now all of the volunteers want a quilt, too!

Linda’s enthusiasm reminds me that quilting allows us to try new things each time we create something. For me, a girl who likes consistency and routine, I love that quilting helps me to experiment and break out of my box. It’s exhilarating!

Here’s to great memory quilts, trying new things, and to wishing all of those on the East Coast well today and in the days to come.

Subscribe to our blog using a valid email address and we will send you a cool gift (yes, we will ask for your mailing address since we haven’t found a way to tweet fabric electronically… yet!). Once subscribed, we promised not to bug you with non-QUTI silliness and absolutely won’t share your information without your permission. Remember, we have manners… See our manners aka privacy policies posted under our policies page.

Super cool fat quarter gift available until the end of the month of August! Join us now, keep track of the crazies quilting under the influence!!!

I just couldn’t resist! Lame, I know… I was shopping with the family this past weekend for random house stuff (well, if I label it stuff, do you really think one needs it?)… Linda, focus, oh yes… back to the story. There was a fabric and notions section in a nameless large box retailer – wooo hooo! I sooooo got in trouble – a new sewing box (well it was bigger and more “alive”), flower pins (yes, in new luscious colors I didn’t have, come on-a must have, right?) fat quarters (really Linda?), fat quarters for the 5 year old (ugh!-the fruit doesn’t fall too far from the tree, right?), and other “stuff” in the cart, 30 minutes later. Thank god my son and husband came or it could have been worse as I didn’t have the chance to touch all of the fabric bolts!!!

So, here are some of the fat quarters with my luscious flowers pins~! So if quilting is my therapy, perhaps I need a new treatment regime?

I am thinking that I will make a rag quilt with these fat quarters, I have the flannel and the new die for my Baby Go! Fun!

Now, of course, I don’t even have a baby to make this quilt for but it will be fun making it!

If you make it, it will come… eeek! What am I saying? I have all the wonderful children I can handle!!! Ha!

Cheers, Linda of QUTI, Shopping Under The Influence of the Five Year Old

I realized that I was officially hooked on quilting when I got home one Friday evening after a very long week of work and I felt a craving to turn on my machine and do some sort of quilting to help me wind down.

For a moment I thought about just randomly sewing fun stitches onto scraps of fabric, but it seemed a bit wasteful and unsatisfying.

So I got an evening cocktail pondering what to create to relax myself and immerse myself into the soothing quilting zone. While my husband cooked dinner (his fantastic cooking is one of his many talents) and my son was busy reenacting a Thomas the Train story, I decided to make one of the most simple, relaxing projects possible. A coaster. Within a half an hour I was able to pour one more glass and now had something to set it on!

Cheers, Kelly at QUTI

PS: Coaster works with a variety of beverages. This was a quilting under the influence of a latte day.

“Again?” That’s what everyone who knows me said when they saw me limping down the hall late last week. Sure enough, my poor weak pinky toe which has been dislocated so many times that I’ve lost count, has done it again. This time I actually tripped on my own kid who was playing on the living room floor!

Whenever this happens it is truly a sign, albeit a painful one, that I need to slow down a bit. In this instance, just hours before I dislocated the little pinky, I had been running around like a chicken with my head cut off frantically preparing for an evening event.

So just as I was feeling that I’d been neglecting my Singer (aka Singeria…yes, I named her), I found that quilting was the perfect remedy for my pain. I got set up with a cup of coffee, turned on some quiet music, propped my foot up and proceeded with sewing the binding strips together to help my mom complete a beautiful quilt she is making for my aunt. Making the best out of a painful situation. Quilting is great medicine!

Eeek, is right. A little background… I spent a mint on a Flexa ensemble when Zack was two with the promise that the “system” will grow with your child through the teenager years… Cool, how wise and thrifty was I? Yes, I remain consistent with my apparent lack of eventual thriftiness…

Zack sat me down (yes, he is only 7 years old) and said that his bed was too babyish (is that even a word?) and said he wanted to sell it on Craigslist. Speechless and a little proud that he made the Craigslist connection/obsession, I listened.

I repeat (in my head)… Linda, seek first to understand, Linda, seek first to understand… so I listened with love and patience in my heart. (Inside, I couldn’t believe that 1. he feels all “grown up and not babyish” and 2. didn’t he know that “investing” in Flexa means it lasts until he goes off to college? )

Then… get this… he asked, “Can we split the money we get for the bed?” WHHHHATTT? – (to a silly nursery rhyme song in my head?) Where oh where did my little boy go, just where or where can he be?

First of all, I said no, dear, with the most love I could muster with a smile. It was bittersweet, it was a brilliant and astute question (we have been focusing on financial literacy lately) yet, heeeelllllooo! he didn’t buy the bed in the first place, nor did he get that I had to replace it!

So the end of the story is this… there was $20 to spare, so I broke down and gave it to him from the proceeds. He is saving for an ipod touch… yes, HE is saving… he must learn this great American lesson now before it is too late!

So here it goes… a new bed, now warrants a new quilt per Zack’s request. We flipped through our quilt books and he chose a simple, modern, black quilt with red flames! It will be such a boy quilt! Stay tuned!!!

Ok, I was at Safeway, yes, the grocery store, the one I frequent for the staples of life… milk, eggs, fruit, oh wait…. the impulse isle-a fabric throw made of recycled material! $6.99 what a deal? and for a 60×60 piece of fabric-come on quilters, don’t you agree? Being impulsive and a little ADHD, yes… I bought it!

Feeling righteous for buying an eco-friendly product, and oh so thrifty (it is so not me, but I am trying), I thought I could embellish it with my new Baby Go! Did I say I was impulsive and a little ADHD? A friend gave me a beautiful Amazon Gift Certificate and I got my frivolous and all important new quilting tool. Okay, I am sorry, Baby Go, you are not frivolous, you are a tool. I stand corrected… yes, by myself.

Okay, I digress, or progress, who knows… I pulled out the Baby Go for the first time- WOOO HOOOO! Geez… a little cute girl thought it was fascinating as well… Ahhh, another “teachable moment” – that is my new code phrase.

Focus Linda. Okay, but isn’t she cute? I so love her… Yes, Ella primarily and yes, also the Go Baby…

Onto the project, right? I pulled out the eco-find and decided to Eva Bernina the flowers (it seemed to so tropical and fun) to embellish with these great pops of color. Oh, and of course, the colors are so our QUTI colors-yes, I have QUTI on the brain!!!

The sick part of this story is I woke up in the middle of the night and had to sew the binding. Yes, you “heard” that right. After sleeping for four hours, I woke up at 1 and sewed until 3:30am… I must seek professional help I am sure!!!! I even talked to myself and said “Linda, this is lame… why are sewing in the middle of the night? and why can’t you stop?” I said, back to myself, “Well, I just need to finish the binding so I can feel like I accomplished something.” “Oh,” I said, “That’s lame.” I said, “Yes, it is but it is soooo me!”